INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA 0|XKd24BN
RICHARD LYNN L
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University of Ulster, Northern Ireland ;
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Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore ~c*
UAowS
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of =&7@<vBpy
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a Mra35
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of \"x>JW4w
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation _s+c+]bO
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. O*G1 QX
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples (a.1M8v+Sg
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the ;W{b $k@g
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed IU#x
[P!
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally ewnfeg1
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of ^e%}[q[>|
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies d~@q%-`lA
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean Mvb':/M
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained r`6:Q&&
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature s+,&|;Q
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by g9KTn4
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 8o|P&q(v*
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. b,@aq
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Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids AW~"yI<
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the #?Mj$ZB
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest ]^K;goQv
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the eA=WGy@IcN
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high B
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intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been /0lC KU!=
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn #`ls)-`7
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be )(m0cP{7
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. x<ax9{
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial {.CMD9F[
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become y-B=W]E
available and are the subject of this report. -
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METHOD uWjU OJEe
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by :#u}.G
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. lb~E0U`\E`
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a ^.goO]
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from l -.(Ez*
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given 5~+XZA#2
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables %NajFjBI
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile xWE8Wm
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the WUEHB
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). >(3\kiYS
RESULTS c%f_.MiU
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for nY_?Jq
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which >72JV;W]
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is s-rfS7;
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the
!tNd\}@
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the r:&|vP
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to ;..o7I
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British ONX8}Ob~
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the pQWHG#?7
British standardisation sample. K
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TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH por/^=e{Y
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD CQ^3v09N;~
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. cozXb$bBY
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means s_ bR]G
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. v`DI<Lt
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of CO^Jz
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white gR Nv-^
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an A
:# k
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 >w|*ei:@S
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean " aq'R(/`c
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by gfy19c 9
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater 0$HmY2
Men
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically oyx^a9
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. 8=;k"
DISCUSSION
27D!'S
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in WE6\dhJ<
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States >t <pFh
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically 4=[7Em?oLb
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low ~/-eyxLTm
living standards in China. t'1Y@e
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- {0v*xL_O^
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by {fDTSr?/
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than p
&(OZJT
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & E(^0B(JF
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the U \oy8FZ
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half @T:faJ5\'
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 KE}H&1PjU
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this aeP[+ I9
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been x,8<tSW)Z
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in 9&Ne+MY^%
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). S%mfs!E>
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US SO{p ;g
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 ?+2b(2&MXE
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and jQh^WmN
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back Ne6}oQy(S`
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs sL^yB
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living !EBY@ Y1
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be ~i0R^qfr
expected to increase further. 2/7_;_#vJ%